{"data":{"id":"us/49-cfr-385.321","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"49 CFR 385.321","heading":"Safety audit: Failure.","body":"(a) General. The failures of safety management practices consist of a lack of basic safety management controls as described in Appendix A of this part or failure to comply with one or more of the regulations set forth in paragraph (b) of this section and will result in a notice to a new entrant that its USDOT new entrant registration will be revoked.\n(b) Automatic failure of the audit. A new entrant will automatically fail a safety audit if found in violation of any one of the following 16 regulations:\nTable to § 385.321—Violations That Will Result in Automatic Failure of the New Entrant Safety Audit\nViolation Guidelines for determining automatic failure of the safety audit\n1. § 382.115(a)/§ 382.115(b)—Failing to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program (domestic and foreign motor carriers, respectively) Single occurrence.\n2. § 382.201—Using a driver known to have an alcohol content of 0.04 or greater to perform a safety-sensitive function Single occurrence.\n3. § 382.211—Using a driver who has refused to submit to an alcohol or controlled substances test required under part 382 Single occurrence.\n4. § 382.215—Using a driver known to have tested positive for a controlled substance Single occurrence.\n5. § 382.305—Failing to implement a random controlled substances and/or alcohol testing program Single occurrence.\n6. § 383.3(a)/§ 383.23(a)—Knowingly using a driver who does not possess a valid CDL Single occurrence.\n7. § 383.37(b)-Knowingly allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing an employee to operate a commercial motor vehicle with a commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license which is disqualified by a State, has lost the right to operate a CMV in a State or who is disqualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle Single occurrence.\n8. § 383.51(a)—Knowingly allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to drive who is disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle Single occurrence. This violation refers to a driver operating a CMV as defined under § 383.5.\n9. § 387.7(a)—Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required minimum levels of financial responsibility coverage Single occurrence.\n10. § 387.31(a)—Operating a passenger carrying vehicle without having in effect the required minimum levels of financial responsibility Single occurrence.\n11. § 391.15(a)—Knowingly using a disqualified driver Single occurrence.\n12. § 391.11(b)(4)—Knowingly using a physically unqualified driver Single occurrence. This violation refers to a driver operating a CMV as defined under § 390.5.\n13. § 395.8(a)—Failing to require a driver to make a record of duty status Requires a violation threshold (51% or more of examined records) to trigger automatic failure.\n14. § 396.9(c)(2)—Requiring or permitting the operation of a commercial motor vehicle declared “out-of-service” before repairs are made Single occurrence.\n15. § 396.11(a)(3)—Failing to correct out-of-service defects listed by driver in a driver vehicle inspection report before the vehicle is operated Single occurrence.\n16. § 396.17(a)—Using a commercial motor vehicle not periodically inspected Requires a violation threshold (51% or more of examined records) to trigger automatic failure.","path":["Title 49—Transportation","Subtitle B—Other Regulations Relating to Transportation","CHAPTER III—FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION","SUBCHAPTER B—FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS","PART 385—SAFETY FITNESS PROCEDURES","Subpart D—New Entrant Safety Assurance Program"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-49.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:34Z","sha256":"acda5e9a9a98c37a32b56697f83cc6303525309aa98225053ac3495c33c3aade","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/49-cfr-385.319","next":"us/49-cfr-385.323"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}